--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My general impression about people like…" description: "\"My general impression about people like Steve Gould and Carl Sagan and so on is that when they disappear as individuals and are no longer appearing on ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/richard-lewontin-20755_19th-century_my-general-impression-about-people-like_1616368.jpg" --- # My general impression about people like Steve Gould and… ![“My general impression about people like Steve Gould and Carl Sagan and so on is that when they disappear as individuals and are no longer appearing on the stage and they are no longer writing, that their lifetime of acknowledgement by the general reading public is not very long... There were many…” quote by Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/richard-lewontin-20755_19th-century_my-general-impression-about-people-like_1616368.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/richard-lewontin-20755_19th-century_my-general-impression-about-people-like_1616368.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/richard-lewontin-20755_19th-century_my-general-impression-about-people-like_1616368.jpg) > “My general impression about people like Steve Gould and Carl Sagan and so on is that when they disappear as individuals and are no longer appearing on the stage and they are no longer writing, that their lifetime of acknowledgement by the general reading public is not very long... There were many people in the 19th century who were equally famous people who gave working man's lectures, supporters of Darwin, we as scholars know their names but the general public never heard of them.” [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fame fades quickly once a public figure stops producing visible work, and many historically important scholars remain unknown to the masses. **In simple terms:** Public attention drops when output stops; many scholars stay obscure. Key Takeaway Recognize contributions beyond current visibility. Themes fame public awareness historical memory science communication legacy Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical observational When to use this quote - academic lectures - media appearances - publication cycles - historical research - education outreach Key Concepts ephemerality cultural memory recognition visibility Questions to Reflect On - How can we preserve the legacy of important but now‑quiet scholars? - What role should institutions play in maintaining public awareness? A Different Perspective Even with lasting impact, societal memory often favors recent visibility over lasting contributions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acknowledgement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acknowledgement/) [Famous people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous-people/) [General public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-public/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Lectures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lectures/) [Lifetime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifetime/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sagan/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Working man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-man/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [As my old professor Carl Sagan said so often, 'When you’re in love, you want to tell the world.’ And I base my beliefs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/as-my-old-professor-carl-sagan-said-so-often-when-you-re-in-love-you/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [The issue, as correctly emphasized by Carl Sagan, is the probability of the evolution of high intelligence and an electronic civilization on an inhabited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mayr/the-issue-as-correctly-emphasized-by-carl-sagan-is-the-probability-of/) [Ernst Mayr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mayr/) > [The true scientific understanding of the nature of existence is so utterly fascinating; how could you not want people to share it? Carl Sagan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-true-scientific-understanding-of-the-nature-of-existence-is-so/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Carl Sagan always used to say that when he was trying to explain something to someone, he would go back to that time when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/carl-sagan-always-used-to-say-that-when-he-was-trying-to-explain/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [I remember that one time Carl Sagan was giving a talk, and he spelled out, in a kind of withering succession, these great theories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/i-remember-that-one-time-carl-sagan-was-giving-a-talk-and-he-spelled/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [I agree, along with Carl Sagan, that we should eventually become a two planet species. Life is too precious to place on a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/i-agree-along-with-carl-sagan-that-we-should-eventually-become-a-two/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [Mythology is about Good VS Evil, is it not? We can pretend runes and astrology and reading tea leaves...But to whom do we pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steakley/mythology-is-about-good-vs-evil-is-it-not-we-can-pretend-runes-and/) [John Steakley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steakley/) > [By my reckoning, I'm about 100 kilometers from Pathfinder. Technically it's called “Carl Sagan Memorial Station.” But with all due respect to Carl, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-weir/by-my-reckoning-i-m-about-100-kilometers-from-pathfinder-technically/) [Andy Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-weir/) > [The past history of human belief is a cautionary tale. We have killed thousands of our fellow human beings because we believed they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/the-past-history-of-human-belief-is-a-cautionary-tale-we-have-killed/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out. -this quote is actually found in Carl Sagan's book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-not-so-open-minded-that-our-2/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“It was difficult to hold Broca's brain without wondering whether in some sense Broca was still in there—his wit, his skeptical mien, his abrupt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-was-difficult-to-hold-broca-s-brain-without-wondering-whether-in/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Except for hydrogen, all the atoms that make each of us up—the iron in our blood, the calcium in our bones, the carbon in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/except-for-hydrogen-all-the-atoms-that-make-each-of-us-up-the-iron-in/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-nuclear-arms-race-is-like-two-sworn-enemies-standing-waist-deep/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“And if the world does not in all respects correspond to our wishes, is this the fault of science, or of those who would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/and-if-the-world-does-not-in-all-respects-correspond-to-our-wishes-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [I want the strangeness and weirdness and incomprehensibility of life that art can reflect so well, but I want it to feel like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dario-robleto/i-want-the-strangeness-and-weirdness-and-incomprehensibility-of-life/) [Dario Robleto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dario-robleto/) ## More by Richard Lewontin > [I assume the same problem exists in Australia as in America of back-biting and jealousy and parochialism among disciplines - there are the scientists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/i-assume-the-same-problem-exists-in-australia-as-in-america-of-back/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [The vulgarization of Darwinism that sees the "struggle for existence" as nothing but the competition for some environmental resource in short supply ignores the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/the-vulgarization-of-darwinism-that-sees-the-struggle-for-existence/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/we-take-the-side-of-science-in-spite-of-the-patent-absurdity-of-some/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [In my mind the job of a natural scientist is to bend over backwards to say something which can be demonstrated to be true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/in-my-mind-the-job-of-a-natural-scientist-is-to-bend-over-backwards/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [If I ask you who is the most famous scientist who ever lived, or the greatest scientist who ever lived you'll say either Einstein…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/if-i-ask-you-who-is-the-most-famous-scientist-who-ever-lived-or-the/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [People who have various kinds of politics for whom it is congenial for their apriority politics to say yes, things are getting much worse.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/people-who-have-various-kinds-of-politics-for-whom-it-is-congenial/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [To appeal to an omnipotent deity is to allow that at any moment the regularities of nature may be ruptured, that miracles may happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/to-appeal-to-an-omnipotent-deity-is-to-allow-that-at-any-moment-the/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [There are a whole other range of sciences that must deal with the narrative reconstruction of the inordinately complex events of history that can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/there-are-a-whole-other-range-of-sciences-that-must-deal-with-the/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [As an American I must say I haven't been very encouraged by the way in which the people who run the government in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/as-an-american-i-must-say-i-haven-t-been-very-encouraged-by-the-way/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [Evolutionists ... have a prior commitment, a commitment to naturalism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/evolutionists-have-a-prior-commitment-a-commitment-to-naturalism-it/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [Quantification, experimentation, rigor, repetition, prediction - all of these are part of the experimental sciences. There's an iconography also namely man, and I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/quantification-experimentation-rigor-repetition-prediction-all-of/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [An experimental science is supposed to perform experiments that find generalities. It's not just supposed to tally up a long list of individual cases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/an-experimental-science-is-supposed-to-perform-experiments-that-find/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [If you can't write well then your ambition to become famous in this way will be frustrated. Either that or you have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/if-you-can-t-write-well-then-your-ambition-to-become-famous-in-this/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [If I put myself on the side of those who see the world as warming up in a bad way, who see the general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/if-i-put-myself-on-the-side-of-those-who-see-the-world-as-warming-up/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [Like all biologists I simply acknowledge the gravity of the current situation. There are scenarios under which things work out well and to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/like-all-biologists-i-simply-acknowledge-the-gravity-of-the-current/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) [Explore all 29 Richard Lewontin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) ## More 19th century quotes > [Though my grandmother had picked up modern ideas in America, she still had some conflicting 19th-century Irish notions. She believed that daughters, educated though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/though-my-grandmother-had-picked-up-modern-ideas-in-america-she-still/) [Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/) > [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Washington was no politician as we understand the word," replied Ratcliffe abruptly. "He stood outside of politics. The thing couldn't be done today. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/washington-was-no-politician-as-we-understand-the-word-replied/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Then years back, when I moved to California, I happened to see a book about fashions of 19th-century Victorian England, only four pages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/then-years-back-when-i-moved-to-california-i-happened-to-see-a-book/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Like the railroads that brought us together in the 19th century, these trails will bring us together in the 20th and 21st centuries. (at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/like-the-railroads-that-brought-us-together-in-the-19th-century-these/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [By tracing the careers of the four members of the Philosophical Breakfast Club, Laura Snyder has found a wonderful way not just to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-standage/by-tracing-the-careers-of-the-four-members-of-the-philosophical/) [Tom Standage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-standage/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [ . . . Luddites were those frenzied traditionalists of the early 19th century who toured \[England\] wrecking new weaving machines on the theory that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/luddites-were-those-frenzied-traditionalists-of-the-early-19th/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [“The Victorian era was an age of superlatives and larger-than-life characters, and as far as that goes, Dr. Wildman Whitehouse fit right in: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-victorian-era-was-an-age-of-superlatives-and-larger-than-life/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Take any writer you want in the 19th century: they wrote with quill pens, dipping a piece of goose feather in ink and writing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/take-any-writer-you-want-in-the-19th-century-they-wrote-with-quill/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [There are real issues that the president Donald Trump and particularly Steve Bannon, his political adviser, are pushing. It's a vision, a rather dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franklin-jeffrey/there-are-real-issues-that-the-president-donald-trump-and/) [James Franklin Jeffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franklin-jeffrey/) > [While every historical era has its unique appeal as a setting for tales of crime and detection, the 19th century is exceptional - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/while-every-historical-era-has-its-unique-appeal-as-a-setting-for/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [Adolescence was invented in the 19th century to enable middle-class families to keep their children out of sweatshops. But it has degenerated into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/adolescence-was-invented-in-the-19th-century-to-enable-middle-class/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [An ethic of maternalism was central to the utopianism of 19th century feminists. I don't think that today's women see motherhood as a source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-wright/an-ethic-of-maternalism-was-central-to-the-utopianism-of-19th-century/) Clare Wright Browse all 383 19th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My general impression about people like Steve Gould and Carl Sagan and so on is that when they disappear as individuals and are no longer appearing on the stage and they are no longer writing, that their lifetime of acknowledgement by the general reading public is not very long... There were many people in the 19th century who were equally famous people who gave working man's lectures, supporters of Darwin, we as scholars know their names but the general public never heard of them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Lewontin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/my-general-impression-about-people-like-steve-gould-and-carl-sagan/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "19th century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/my-general-impression-about-people-like-steve-gould-and-carl-sagan/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/richard-lewontin-20755_19th-century_my-general-impression-about-people-like_1616368.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/richard-lewontin-20755_19th-century_my-general-impression-about-people-like_1616368.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/richard-lewontin-20755_19th-century_my-general-impression-about-people-like_1616368.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My general impression about people like Steve Gould and Carl Sagan and so on is that when they disappear as…” — Richard Lewontin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Richard Lewontin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My general impression about people like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/my-general-impression-about-people-like-steve-gould-and-carl-sagan/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/my-general-impression-about-people-like-steve-gould-and-carl-sagan/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```